GLAD YOU'RE BACK. A WEIRD ONE, INVESTIGATORS STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT PROVOKED A WOMAN TO SET HER CAR ON FIRE WITH HER PETS INSIDE. EYEWITNESSES COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY WERE SEEING. WHEN THE CAR BURST INTO FLAMES YESTERDAY, YOU SEE THE VIDEO HERE AT THE GAS STATION, WHOLE THING CAUGHT ON TAPE. THOSE ARE FLAMES. A LITTLE OUT OF FOCUS, LOCAL 6'S EVAN LAMBERT TALKED TO THE HERO WHO WENT IN THE CAR AND SAVED THE DOGS. Reporter: I JUST TALKED TO THE GUY THAT RACED TOWARD THE BURNING CAR, HE DIDN'T WANT TO GO ON CAMERA. LOOK AT THIS DAMAGE. THIS IS THE BURNED PUMP, NOW THE WOMAN WHO DID THIS IS IN THE HOSPITAL. ALL OF A SUD THEN A SPLIT SUDDEN, SHE LIT THE CAR ON FIRE. RIGHT THERE ON THE LEFT, A WOMAN WALKS UP TO HER GAS-SOAKED CAR, FLICK AS LIGHTERS A LIGHTER AND TURNS IT IN A BALL OF FLAMES. THAT IS ALEXANDRA BARNES. JOHN FLINGS HIMSELF TOWARD THE CAR, HIS INSTINCTS KICKED IN. HE THOUGHT THERE WERE KIDS INSIDE, THERE WERE TWO DOGS. HIS BOSS SAYS HE'S A HERO. HE'S A LITTLE BIT CRAZY, BUT SOME PEOPLE WOULD STAND THERE AND WATCH AND OTHERS WILL UPMANY JUMP INTO ACTION, I'M PROUD OF HIM. IT COULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER. COULD HAVE TOOK OUT THE WHOLE BLOCK. RIVERA SAYS IT IS A MIRACLE THE WHOLE STATION DIDN'T EXPLODE. BRACEY TACKLED BARNES AND SAVED HER, TOO. SHE SET THE FIRE AFTER TRYING TO STEAL A LIGHTER FROM INSIDE THE GAS STATION. THEY FORCED HER TO GET A MENTAL HEALTH CHECK AT THE HOSPITAL. I THINK SHE WAS TRYING TO KILL HERSELF. POLICE SAY THEY ARE LUCKY ALL THIS WAS CAPTURED ON SURVEILLANCE CAMERA, NOW IT IS UP TO THE STATE FIRE MARSHALL TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO CHARGE THE WOMAN.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -

People ran for their lives when a woman lit her car on fire at a busy gas station, nearly causing the place to explode, police said.

Quick Clicks

It happened at the BP gas station at 971 West International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach.

Eyewitnesses who couldn't believe what they were seeing. They said the woman pulled up to the pump, poured gas on her car, and then lit it on fire -- with her pets trapped inside.

"I think she was trying to kill us all," said Edna Sandrus, who was one of two clerks on duty. "All I know was I had to shut that valve off or this whole place was going to blow up."

It began when the woman paid $20 for gas, then stole a lighter. The view from store security cameras shows one clerk, Craig Walker, try to wrestle a lighter from the woman's hands.

The woman managed to grab another lighter from inside her car, lit the gas she had poured over her car, and then a ball of flames engulfed the car and shot as high as the pumps.

A stranger tackled the woman, covered her on the ground, and probably saved her life. Meanwhile, Walker ran away just in time.

One man saw what happened and ran to rescue those pets while others ran for their lives. The man at the pump next to her ran so fast, he ran out of his shoes to escape the pending explosion, said witnesses.

Police identified the woman as Alexandra Barnes of West Palm Beach and said she kept saying she was God. Even after being saved, witnesses said Barnes wasn't done risking other people's lives.

"The only thing she did say was her babies were in the car. So the boy from next door assumed that she had kids in the car, so he ran to the car with it on fire and there was dogs in there," said Sandrus.

After John Bracy saved her dogs, witnesses said she scooped them up and ran into the busy road, sat down in oncoming traffic and waited to get hit by cars.

Bracy's boss, Rafael Rivera, said Bracy is a hero.

"He's a little bit crazy but you know some people would stand there and watch and others would jump into action and that's exactly what he did and I'm proud of him," Rivera said.

Police took her away in handcuffs and she'll be mentally evaluated, but people who witnessed the ordeal are just happy nobody was hurt -- or worse.

"I never thought I would experience that working here," said Walker.

Both the woman's dogs were taken to the Humane Society. They were not injured.

The state fire marshal will determine if Barnes will be charged.

Copyright 2013 by Post-Newsweek Stations. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Comments

The views expressed below are not those of News4Jax or its affiliated companies. By clicking on "Post," you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and your comment is in compliance with such terms. Readers, please help keep this discussion respectful and on topic by flagging comments that are offensive or inappropriate (hover over the commenter's name and you'll see the flag option appear on right side of that line). And remember, respect goes both ways: Tolerance of others' opinions is important in a free discourse. If you're easily offended by strong opinions, you might skip reading comments entirely.